Drone Flying Near Newark Airport Map Halts Fly

All aircraft bound to Newark Liberty International Airport were stopped on Tuesday night after two pilots reported seeing a drone flying nearby, said the Federal Aviation Administration.

The drone was discovered about 3,500 feet above Teterboro Airport in New Jersey, a small airport about 17 miles north of Newark Liberty that handles private aircraft, the agency said. After the observations, Newark's stops were stopped and incoming aircraft were kept in the air.

Flights had reserved landing at Newark at 5:45 am, but aircraft led to the airport from other cities were blocked from taking off, agency said. Newark is one of the three major airports serving New York City and the surrounding region.

Brett Sosnik, a passenger on a flight leading to Newark, said his plane was forced to circle out of southern New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania in the stop of arrivals. He said the pilot said they circled "because of drone activity."

The pilot of an incoming United flight from New Orleans due to land at Newark around 6am said the plane had circled around for about 20 minutes due to the drone activity before being transferred to Philadelphia for thought. At 6:20 pm he said he expected to continue on to Newark soon.

Shortly after 7pm, the officials of the Port Authority said that normal operations had resumed in Newark Liberty and ended a 90-minute interruption. They said they would work with F.A.A. and federal law enforcement agencies "as they investigate this incident."

Teterboro Airport is patrolled by the Port State Police Directorate and falls under the jurisdiction of the Moonachie Police Department. On Tuesday night about the drone sighting, an officer on duty said the department was unaware of it.

The disturbance came a month after reported drone observations caused the closure of Gatwick airport in London. These observations led to the grounding or diversion of more than 1,000 aircraft over three days. The resulting chaos hit more than 140,000 passengers in the UK and reverberated around the world, delaying tens of thousands of people traveling during the holidays.